Davey Lopes Will Not Return

File this one under some sad news for the Phillies. Davey Lopes will not return in 2011 as the Phillies first base coach, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Lopes has spent the last four season with the club.

Lopes, 65 apparently was in a contractual dispute with the team and felt under-appreciated saying,

“We just had a difference of opinion on what I felt my worth was,” Lopes said by telephone. “That’s all. It was a really tough decision because I loved my time in Philadelphia, I loved working for [manager] Charlie Manuel, and I have the utmost respect for everyone in that organization.”

In his four years in Philadelphia, the Phillies led the National League in stolen base percentage each season. Lopes was a running guru and he will clearly be missed on the basepaths. He also had a great rapport with speedsters like Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins. No word yet on a replacement.

UPDATE, 5:15 pm:

Phillies Senior Vice President and General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. made the following statement today regarding Davey Lopes:

“I found out about Davey’s decision today and clearly we are disappointed that he will not be a Phillie next season. We were hopeful that he would have remained with us as he did a fine job with our baserunners and our outfielders for the last four years. Going forward, we will immediately begin a search for his replacement.”

Huge loss. Wonder how this will impact on Rollins and Victorinos abilities on the basepaths, probably more Shane than Jimmy. Without his base stealing Victorino’s offensive game is far less impactful. Hopefully what Lopes taught him will stick.

Perluzzo was kind of in question many times. Even though I never mentioned it before because I am Mr. Positive.

Good riddance to Moyer?
Talk about bad karma.

I agree with Keegan. I will know more in a few months. But its looking like maybe we arent a dynysty. Just a fun team weve had fun following. That did at least give us a title. Even if it is only one. Its special. Like the one Cody Ross and Freddy Sanchez are about to get.

Just when you start believing that this organization “gets it”, something like this comes along. The same team that threw money away for the likes of Adam Eaton, Freddy Garcia, and Danys Baez (among others) gets into a salary dispute with their best coach. Wonderful.

@AFW – Yes, good riddance to Moyer. Sopping up payroll while pithcing ineffectively. Would you like to keep a guy like that. Please don’t say he was great in the clubhouse or a “second pitching coach”. We are going to get substantial payroll relief now that he’s gone.

Moyer will be signed by someone. And id bet he makes a rotation to start the year. Just doesnt fit here.
He will be signed to a minor league contract and make it as a 5 for a team like the Mariners or Pirates or Brewers.

AFW – Andy, Moyer made 8m this year. He earned that? Then you and I must have a serious disagreement as to what constitutes value. The reason he doesn’t fit here is that he’s not good enough to be in the rotation. Unless there is another reason why he doesn’t fit that I’m missing. Letting Lopes go is a gigantic mistake. I just can’t believe that the Phils just wouldn’t meet his price. There has to be more to it. Hopefully, “Insider” Jim Salisbury can get on this soon. I understand that he’s currently working on a story about the Japs bombing some place called Pearl Harbor. If this is true, and JSal is stressing that right now that he only has one source for his story, that this could really upset relations in the Pacific Rim. Stay tuned.

Losing Lopes will hurt, considering the Phils need to think about playing some smallball in 2011. Ok, so baserunning probably won’t improve in 2011, and the whole three-run hr philosophy has run its course. Last week Kruk said the Phils were the worst situational hitting team in the majors. That’s rough. I don’t see how this team can slug it out next year as they’ve been doing for past five years or so.

I dont understand how management could let Lopes go. Who doesn’t see the value he gave this team?
Constipated, good one Kate – definitely embodied this teams spirit.
I hope the Phils will carry an extensive search for someone to replace him

I think Lopes really is the only one on the staff I like, I am not a huge Charlie fan, but respect what he has accomplished. I think Perlozzo is garbage. I am not that high on Gross either. Dubee has had his moments.

Not sure who they are going to get to replace Lopes, but I think they should go get Ryne Sandberg and put him somewhere on this staff maybe as a hitting coach…. he has a pretty good resume.

Need more inside information on this. I loved Lopes and his timing of pitchers and precision, but my impression is that we did NOT run very much this year, despite good overall percentages. Does anyone know how we stack up against other teams in terms of number of bases stolen.

Whatever the answer, Lopes is arguably the best 1st base coach in baseball. I imagine most of us here would take a military assignment in Afghanistan for his salary though…..

By the way, Renteria’s three run homer proves Cliff Lee is hittable, beatable, and not the post season clutch and lock. This is two games in a row facing the Giants that Cliff Lee has been less than his usual post season standard……

Wow we need some changes but I dont think that was the man. I do believe we need a new batting coach. I respect Gross and remember following him as a kid. Andrew i think this team still has one legitimate shot at winning the world series….This will depends on if RAJ makes the right moves everyone is healthy and plays up to par…Wow cant believe them dam Giants…I think its just there year there turn…l

Wasnt Moyer leading the team in wins when he got hurt?
Dip hes OFF. It was the last year of his contract.
So thats that. He is recieving 0 from the phils now.
Your kind of arguing in a circle. We agree he shouldnt come back.
If your saying his signing was bad I disagree. He won a ton of games for the phils. Like I said previously before his injiury for the time he was with the phils which coincided with Cole Hamels entire career he had won more games. So if he sucked then Hamels whole career sucked.

Lopes was the best first base coach in baseball. He is also age 65. I am close to that age and that travel schedule when you are older is murder. There is a reason why he looks constipated all the time, believe me. He also has had health problems and most likely wants to be paid well for his time because he really doesn’t know how much time he has left. Most of us this age feel every jet ride and every new city and every bad meal. It’s a bitch getting old and Davy is getting old. But he still is the best in the game at what he does. Damn shame to lose him.

Guess the Giants won the series.
Next year when old AFW tells you stuff like when the Braves were up 7 that the phils would win the divsion easily and not to worry.
Or that the Giants were clearly the biggest threat the Phils had faced in 4 years in the playoffs.
The Giants beat the Phils. the best phils team ever. But it was close.
This actually shows the phils in a better light.
and good for Pat the Bat. One of my all time favorites.

And dont forget the highest paid Giant is Barry Zito who wasnt even on the roster. Its not always about pay roll and how you spend your money.
Phils need to get younger and talent isnt always variable #1.

Well AFW, its funny that as he kept winning all those games, with a 4.55 ERA, he got left off of post season rosters. Yes, his signing was bad. I don’t blame Moyer for taking the money, just Amaro for giving it to him. My reasoning isn’t “circular” ????. You said he doesn’t fit here. I agreed and said the reason he doesn’t “fit” is that he’s not good enough. Pretty straightforward I think. You’re right…he’s off and thank god for it.

Jamie Moyer would be good enough in any ballclub that didn’t already have Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels in its rotation.

Big Roy’s a great combination of talent, worth ethic, and smarts.

Cole has definitely earned every inch of redemption he’s gotten this season. What a great turnaround.

Little Roy is just a FUN pitcher to watch when he’s on his game.

Moyer brings two decades worth of experience to his game and it showed when he carved the Yankees up earlier this year, one start after the worst start of his career in Boston. Remember how he confounded the Braves with a complete game shut-out?

I’ll probably catch a lot of crap for saying this, but H2O hope and pray they’ll be as good as Jamie Moyer is when they’re his age.

Really with the Moyer hatred
I dont get it at all
Except that hes a soft tosser and most fans want to see the big arms.
Like comparing a singles hitter to a home run hitter.
Chicks dig the long ball as they say.

the braves and phils played the giants the best..they just rolled over the Rangers….good pitching almost always beats good hitting…still the Phils had plenty of chances…in my eyes we beat ourselves…not to take anything from the Giants…

Cliffs stock didnt fall as far his contract.
Rowand didnt earn this ring. The team slourished when he was benched.
I forgot about him. Add his contract to the Zito one.
Its amazing what the Giants did here. I am guessing they are thier highest paid pitcher and position player. By a good deal.

Wow Jeff
Out of line. I was going to agree with your Ross statement.
If you dont like Lopez state why. You will be the only one I think.
We got all off season now and new year in 2011. So settle in and lets discuss. Without calling everyone and everything garbage.
Heck I may even send an article on why Howard is over paid. Just so you can have a full on discussion about it. But lets be decent.

No point in being decent with Jeff. He’s a scumbag. Everybody sucks, everybody’s garbage, at least, if they’re non-white. Utley seems to get a pass on everything. Yeah, I’m pretty much calling him a racist, bottom-feeder. I just hope he dies in the off season so we’re spared this 6 month dance again.

Rowand had his jaw broken early in the year by a pitch and he never came back fully. Once I found that out, I more empathized with his lackluster performance than castigated him or called him ‘trash’.

I think Rowand will be back somewhat, still a lot of baseball in that gamer. But, Cody will either be back on the bench or playing backup on another team before the year is out. Definitely he’ll forever be a trivia question from this point on. Lifetime journeyman OF, with a career BA of .265 and a hop/skip that looks like something my 4 year old grand daughter would do – oh yes, did I mention before that he wears panty hose? Nice touch.

BTW – think about how the Giants got to the Post season.
– Lincecum? Very subpar year for him although in September he pitched his best ball for the season
– their best hitter, Pablo Sandoval? Extremely flat season, he wasn’t even starting third base in September
– Betsy Ross? No, Betsy was still on the bench
– Zito? No, what a miserable season he had.
– Uribe? Renteria? Edgar was on the DL for most of the year (he played in 72 regular season games)

– Pat Burrell & Aubrey Huff took them through the month of September along with Cain (he went 5-0 in Sept) & Lincecum (5-1 in Sept with a 1.94 era) and 2 more important notes: the collapse of the Padres as well as the Rockies.

I know some of you are thinking ‘well the 07 Phils would not have gotten to the Post Season without help from the Muts collapse’ – true, true – but the 2007 Phillies had quite a bit more promise than the 2010 into 11 Giants.

My point, the Giants WILL NOT be back with this same cast of misfits. They may show up in the Post Season again but they certainly will not go as far.

My last statement about Moyer. Its really not Moyer that I disliked. Its the fact that he was pitching on that gift two year contract that was bestowed upon him for a good 2008 season. Ruben’s mistake. He was overpaid and often ineffective. If he was making 3m a year, you would not have heard a peep out of me. Perhaps everytime I let Moyer have it I should have been focused on Ruben instead.

I’m glad he is not going to be starting for the Phils anylonger. I’m also glad the last game I saw Jamie pitch was in Yankee stadium – that was a classic. I don’t think it would be detrimental to see Moyer in a Phils uniform, as a pitching coach. But, perhaps Jamie believes there is more in the tank.

NO! not Lopes!. This is retarded. and for a contract dispute? Bring him back!
Moyer… great guy, great presence, but let’s be honest, he’s too old to be expected to take on 20% of the starts on a playoff caliber team with a diminishing offense. He will definitely be missed, but Kendrick has proved to be an able replacement and 5th starter.

I think that biggest impact of losing Davey will be in the clubhouse- it’s obvious that the players respected him and listened to him. If I would have guessed that one of our “base coaches” was going to be let go, I would have guessed Perlozzo was that guy. I think that Davey is a good teacher. I think that we rarely take bad risks between first and second base and he’s definitely a huge reason why. Davey took very calculated risks and that manifested itself in a very high success rate… maybe we could benefit from having someone in there who is a little more aggressive… I don’t know. I kind of lean the other way – better to be safe than sorry. I think that we would all like to see more bunting… more hit and runs and maybe we can find someone who can teach that and someone who is willing to be a little more aggressive.

I think losing Davy is a big loss and think he did a great job with the baserunners and stealing. But in the big picture, I think you can find a servicable replacement for him. As long as they go out and get another basestealing coach.
I just wished he had retired instead of leaving cause the Phillies would not pony up another million or two for him. I think this is a lose they can over come. But by no means does that mean I wanted to see him go, or think that he did not do a great job, dispite being a Dodger I grew to like the guy.
He did say winning the WS in 2008 was a bigger deal then the one he won as a Dodger, so with that I love the guy, anything the disses the Dodgers is ok in ;m;y book

Finding a “serviceable replacement” doesn’t make sense to me. I keep hearing this same arguement for losing Werth. I thought the point of replacing someone was to improve. Lacking the ability to do so, you keep the ‘bird in the hand’. Is everyone so used to mediocrity that losing something that actually works well is meaningless? I really don’t understand the FO at all. They’re refusing to reward a coach & a player who’ve done the hard work & put in the time for them. — Eh, let it go, there’s better out there & they’ll come here! — Why would anyone want to be w/the Phillies when they won’t reward time & effort, they just dump you.

I was hoping for the best during the off-season. Unfortunately It seems this may be the beginning of other questionable decisions. This news upset me.

Did they give all the money they want to spend to Howard? I If so, I can’t say what a poor decision I think it is. I keep hearing they’re “building a team around him”. But if age & money are really the issues this team so often claims they are, then that logic escapes me. Why spend that kind of money on and build a team around a 31 yr old & then acquire expensive pitchers who’re even older? Current ages & pay below:

They pay Ryan Howard roughly $30,600 PER PLATE APPEARANCE. The fact that they can’t find another $100,000 (which is less than what they pay Howard for one game) for a coach that has had a visible impact on the team is inexcusable.

@Andrew, keep in mind, jeff is a moron! He can’t be out of line if he’s a moron. So much for that dynasty honestly. I have seen a vast range of posts from Davey Lopes is the best 1st base coach in baseball, to not caring if Werth goes because Geoff Jenkins was the primary starter in 2008. Well first, Davey lopes IS a GREAT 1st base coach. 2nd, How did Jenkins play this season?…exactly.

I don’t know what to expect this season. J-Roll is declining, true he get some clutch hits, but by in large, offensively, he is declining pretty steadily, not to mention injury concerns. Raul is well, OLD, Utley had an OK regular season, and a bad post season, will he come back strong? I hope so. Werth will probably be gone, so what power do we have from the right side of the plate? All signs point to replacing Werth with Dom Brown. Not so sure Dom Brown is ready to fill Werth’s shoes, besides yet another lefty. I would rather see Raul gone, put Dom Brown in left and try to keep Werth. The bullpen needs work. Baez is flat out bad, Herndon is in the same boat. JC Romero was hot and cold, one day, lights out, the next day, a 5 run lead isnt safe. Nate Robertson was probably the worst on the team. Contreras strarted very well, and over all, he and Durbin were probably the most reliable. Once Madson went back to his set up role, he ended up doing fine, he is HORRIBLE as a closer. Can’t sugar coat it, he is flat out HORRIBLE as a closer. Lidge, after a very shaky start and injuries,for the first few months, came back pretty decent over all. FAR better than 2009 Lidge.

Starting Pitching. Halladay was Halladay. Cole Hamels was amazing after a not so pretty start. I was scared to see Oswalt after #1 looking at his numbers historically against the NL East, and #2 his start in Washington, but WOW. Great pick up. Blanton had a mediocre year. Kendrick overall SUCKS except for those game which he was just re-called from the minors going back out there to “prove he belongs”. The problem is, GREAT pitching alone does not win games. If the Phillies only score 1 or 2 runs a game for long periods of time, losses happen. We can not expect #1 our pitching to win 90+ games. #2 If Raul has a similar year, Werth is gone, and Dom Brown has a similar year to Raul, that could be trouble.

Obviously, health is a HUGE factor which hurt the beginning of the season, but if we do not stengthen the bullpen, and get a Right Handed power bat, it could bring trouble next season, can we expect the Phillies to finish the 2011 regular season in similar fashion as 2010? HIGHLY doubtful honestly.

Ruben Amaro can’t pay a pittance to Davey Lopes, but he can pay the world to Ryan “I’m overpaid” Howard. Coaching is THE key to success in professional sports. The Phillies will be less without Davey Lopes. Say goodbye to the Phils. Ruben Amaro, overrated and resting on his Stanford degree, will be the architect of the Phillies demise. Oh, and by the way, two points makes a line; Ryan Howard will continue to strike out and underperform in the playoffs. Only his apologists will continue to sing psalms in tribute to him.

Vegas disagrees… 6-1 odds to win the World Series (second best odds behind the Yankees).

History disagrees… 3x defending NLE champs, WS appearances in 2 out of the last 3 years, #1 prospect in BA coming up, best record in MLB in 2010, H20 back for a full season (essentially guarantees us a postseason berth)